Goemagog (person)

Goemagog, also variously known as Gogmagot or Gogmagog, was a mythical leader/king of the giants in Albion (England) prior to its settlement by "civilized" man. Legend has it, as first recorded by Geoffrey of Monmouth in the early 12th century, that Brutus (credited by Geoffrey with naming Britain, ostensibly after himself), grandson of the hero Aeneas, landed in England at some point in the forgotten past and settled there. Before they could truly conquer the land, however, the native inhabitants--portrayed variously as savages or giants--had to be rooted out.

Conflict between man and giant culminated in the elimination (in a battle, according to some versions of the legend, including the death of 20 giants) of all but the great Goemagog, said to stand 12 cubits high, who could wield an oak tree like a twig. Goemagog was captured and taken by Brutus and his men to Corineus who had a fondness for giant wrestling. The battle that ensued saw three broken ribs for Corineus, which so enraged him that he lifted up Goemagog and hurled him off of a cliff and into the sea, where he was dashed to bits upon the rocks. The cliff from which he was supposedly thrown, in modern-day Cornwall, is known variously as lam-goemagog or langoemagog, translating to "The Giant's Leap."

The legend of Goemagog did not die off with time and eventually permuted to the story of two giants, Gog and Magog, to whom were erected statues in London. First mention of these statues occurs in civic records dating back as far as 1413. The transformation of the names is likely related to the Biblical nations of Gog and Magog which were often at war with various Bible era states. The statues of Gog and Magog still exist today, having survived the Great Fire of 1666 and the Blitz during World War II.